Sarna News

Kensington Talasko (born 27?? - died 28??) was the second saKhan of Clan Star Adder. Elevated to the position for his excellent performance during Operation Klondike, he would step up to display great leadership ability on the field of battle at a time when his Clan would need it most.[1][2][3]

Among the 800 warriors who would go on to form the nascent Clans after Nicholas Kerensky's Second Exodus,[4] Kensington Talasko would quickly rise through the ranks during the campaign to retake the Pentagon Worlds. His grasp of battlefield tactics would help to conserve the remaining Star Adder troops and turn their fortunes around during the course of the campaign.

After the retreat of Ilkasur Shogunate Forces on Aeschel Plateau, the proverbial smoke would clear enough for the Star Adders to get a true assessment of the situation on the ground. The Adders had survived two hours of some of the most intense fighting of the entire campaign, but they would learn that the battle had cost them the life of their beloved founding Khan, Absalom Truscott.[5]

Intelligence gathered from captured enemy soldiers would help lead the Adders to the Nation of Hastur supply convoys that had been crossing the area. Newly elevated KhanDevon LeFabre would order Star Captain Kensington Talasko to take charge of their only functioning Trinary of BattleMechs, and seize the supply convoys for their badly damaged forces.[2] He would succeed at this after skillfully engaging and destroying the enemy's escort forces, taking down a reinforced battalion of mixed troops. After this, he would sweep back to the south and east, taking two Ilkasur Shogunate outposts that had been skipped by the Steel Vipers who had advanced deep into the south at a break-neck pace. Within the time that it took to repair most of the machines lost on the first day's landing, Star Captain Talsko had destroyed two more large Hastur patrols and had taken five additional Hastur outposts. They would soon take the outer frontier capital of the Hasturs, Nyogtha, a small city that would be renamed Kerensky's Dream, becoming the capital and command center for the Star Adder operations on Arcadia.[2][3]

Newly promoted Star Colonel Kensington Talasko would have the honor of first strike in the next faze of operations. Tucked high in the mountains and wedged between the Hasturs and the Shogunate, the Ravisham Collective had managed to eek out an existence on the margins of the Pentagon World hierarchy. Targeting the outer city of Yprili, Star Colonel Talasko - now Khan LeFabre's operational planner and deputy - would opt to have his troops inserted via orbital drop from three of their remaining Dropships, which would also support the assault with their guns. The layered defenses in the mountains surrounding the city fell easily from behind.[6]

Success at Yprilli would yield a similar drop onto the Collective's capital, Toomin. The leader of the Ravisham Collective had exhorted his people to resist to the end. For the first 24 hours, the Star Adders would face an onslaught of suicide bombings organized by the Collective Secret Police, attacks that killed thousands of civilians but did minimal damage to the Adders, losing only two 'Mechs during the ordeal. Soon the fighting would leave the city and enter the mountains. The leaders of the collective attempted to wage a guerrilla campaign against the invaders, but in several weeks even this resistance would fall apart as their supply caches were located and seized. Months later, Premier Ravisham himself would be killed. By this point, the resistance in the region had nominally ended.[6]

During and after Operation Klondike, the Khans of Clan Star Adder would actively recruit from the population on their Arcadian enclave. After stringent testing and training, any warrior found worthy was welcomed into the Clan Star Adder Touman, replacing their losses and expanding to meet the needs of the coming age.[7]SaKhan Talasko would also assist Khan LeFabre in fighting the scattered revolts that sprung up in their new population in the years just after Operation Klondike. And when the whole of Clan society was threatened by the independent actions of the Not-Named Clan, Khans Lefabre and Talasko were among the first to call for their Annihilation as punishment.[1]

Assisting Khan Devon LeFabre in the massive undertaking of filling the shoes of the late Khan Absalom Truscott, saKhan Kensington Talasko more than played a role, he became an invaluable leader at a critical time. His battlefield leadership would extend his Clan's reach and help them to complete the mission in a timely manner. Founder of the Talasko Bloodname House, his genetic heritage would go on to produce warriors for all branches of the Adder Touman, often holding roles of leadership within the Clan.[8]